Race for the SEC

Their loss Saturday at Mississippi State dropped the Arkansas Razorbacks to two games behind the Bulldogs in the Southeastern Conference Western Division standings. But six games remain for both teams, and no Razorback is in the mood to simply hand the division title over to the Bulldogs.

Arkansas needs to pay attention to Pelphrey’s message, considering much-improved LSU comes to Fayetteville on Wednesday night. And if the Razorbacks do take care of the Tigers, they can put themselves in position to make a run at Mississippi State.

The Razorbacks (17-7, 6-4) and Bulldogs (17-7, 8-2) face quite similar SEC-finishing stretches. The combined SEC record of Arkansas’ final six opponents is 25-37. Mississippi State’s final six conference foes are a combined 25-34.

However, the Bulldogs travel for four of their final six games, while Arkansas plays three in Bud Walton Arena and three away from Fayetteville. Both teams will encounter Auburn and LSU on their home courts and Ole Miss in Oxford.

If Arkansas makes up the two-game gap to tie the Bulldogs, the determining tie-breaker will be division record because the teams split their season series. Right now, Arkansas is 5-1 against SEC Western Division teams, and Mississippi State is 6-1.

Pelphrey doesn’t want his team thinking about any of these scenarios. He wants the Razorbacks focusing on one game at a time, and he doesn’t care how much that sounds like coach-speak.

Arkansas senior Sonny Weems stood outside the Razorbacks’ locker room on Saturday in Starkville and insisted the Hogs were capable of concentrating on one contest at a time. Weems said the Razorbacks should worry more about constant effort than division standings.

WEDNESDAY’S TICKET

LSU AT ARKANSAS

WHEN: 8:00 p.m. TV: Raycom Sports

WHERE: Bud Walton Arena

RECORDS: LSU, 9-15, 2-8 Southeastern Conference; Arkansas, 17-7, 6-4

SERIES: Arkansas leads 28-17

LAST MEETING: Arkansas beat LSU 68-52 on Jan. 26 in Baton Rouge, La.

Arkansas prepares for Tennessee

Coach Pelphrey, no doubt, maintains a pessimistic outlook after wins. Like most coaches, he’s bothered by imperfection. No matter what happens.

The win against Ole Miss was nice. But Pelphrey’s right to place a heaping helping of importance on righting any wrongs because of the challenges — and opportunities — that lie ahead for his team on the road.

Fact No. 1: At 6-2, the Razorbacks emerged from the first half of SEC play in position to win their first division championship 1994-95 and compete for their first overall league title since 1993-94.

Fact No. 2: They’ll go head-to-head against the biggest obstacles in the way of those goals this week. They play SEC-leading Tennessee on Wednesday and SEC West front-runner Mississippi State on Saturday.

Fact No. 3: This group hasn’t proven it can win big games on the road.

That’s why Arkansas, as Pelphrey said, has to perform much, much better.

Leaving a hot-shooting opponent open on the road can’t happen. The offensive shot selection must improve because sluggish stretches will prove costly. Missed free throws? Those are simply unacceptable.

Players acknowledged as much after the Ole Miss win. Guard Patrick Beverley said the Razorbacks must learn from their mistakes, buckle down on defense and make sure they’re doing all the little things on the road if they have any hope of staying in contention for the SEC championship.

Tennessee and Mississippi State will be difficult enough. The problem is, that’s not it. After a home game against LSU, the Razorbacks face back-to-back road tests again against Kentucky and Alabama.

Add it up. Four road trips in the next five games.

“This is going to be a big challenge for us,” center Darian Townes said.

Whether the Razorbacks are able to do more than enough to survive the stretch and win games will say a lot.

They’ll be a legitimate SEC title contender. Or they’ll be an afterthought sitting squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble.

Arkansas takes on Tennessee, Wednesday, February 13th, on Raycom Sports, 8 ET

Florida vs Arkansas

Feb. 2, 2008
Florida at Arkansas
Fayetteville, Ark.
Tip 3 p.m. ET
Raycom Sports

The Series

The Florida-Arkansas series has been evenly matched with the Gators holding a slim 10-9 all-time advantage. However, Florida has won six out of the last seven meetings while holding an 8-2 mark against the Hogs in the last 10 contests. The Gators are 10-4 all-time against Arkansas under head coach Billy Donovan.

The game matches up long-time friends and former colleagues, Billy Donovan and John Pelphrey. Donovan was a graduate assistant and then assistant coach for Pelphrey’s final three years as a player at Kentucky (1990-92). Pelphrey was then an assistant for Donovan at Marshall for two years and then for Donovan’s first six years at UF. The two were a part of 159 wins together as coaches (35 at Marshall and 124 at Florida)

It is the second time the two have faced each other as head coaches, with Florida defeating South Alabama, 76-50 in the first round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament in Jacksonville Florida is 40-11 against the SEC West this decade (2-1 this season)

The Gators have won 13 of their last 15 games and are off to a 5-1 start in league play. It is only the ffith start of 18-3 or better in school history.

About Arkansas

Led by former UF assistant John Pelphrey, the Arkansas Razorbacks are off to a 5-5 start and a 4-2 start in league play, highlighted by an impressive 20-point in over SEC West-leading Mississippi State on Wednesday. Sonny Weems leads the Razorbacks in scoring at 14.4 points per game and had 22 points (including five three-pointers) against Mississippi State. Patrick Beverly is averaging 2.2 points per game and has knocked down a team-high 36 three-pointers. Arkansas is out-rebounding its opponents by 6.4 boards per game and forcing 6.7 turnovers per game. The Razorbacks are 10-1 at home this year.

Gators learning to finish opponents off

They may be among the youngest teams in the country, but the Gators are learning how to finish out close games quickly. Tied at 71-71 in their first SEC road game at Alabama, the Gators went on an 11-0 run to take control of the game and outscored the Tide 19-12 over the final seven minutes. Against Auburn, the Gators led 61-56 with 4:29 remaining and held Auburn scoreless the rest of the way, finishing on an 11-0 run. With the game on the line in overtime against Kentucky and tied at 68-68 with 1:33 left, the Gators closed the game in a 13-2 run. Trailing 67-65 at South Carolina, the Gators scored eight of the game’s final 12 points.

Series results

The Florida-Arkansas series has been evenly matched with the Gators holding a slim 10-9 all-time advantage. However, Florida has won
six out of the last seven meetings while holding an 8-2 mark against the Hogs in the last 10 contests. The Gators are 10-4 all-time against
Arkansas under head coach Billy Donovan.

A+ for MSU thus far

In Mississippi State’s first big test of its Southeastern Conference season on Jan. 26, not only did it ace the exam, it tore it up and stomped on it.

The Bulldogs showed a versatility that will be hard to stop in their 88-68 win over then-No. 17 Ole Miss in front of a roaring 10,000-plus at soldout Humphrey Coliseum. Charles Rhodes’ 26 points backed up his talk from earlier

in the week and Jamont Gordon’s offensive effort was only outshined by his defensive effort on lightning-fast Ole Miss point guard Chris Warren.

But where does this leave Mississippi State, which has won nine straight and is bidding for its first 6-0 start in the SEC since 1961? It leaves the Bulldogs clicking on all cylinders, getting their best play from their star tandem of Rhodes and Gordon at the best time of the season.

Not only that, State is getting its best play of the year out of its bench. Coach Rick Stansbury didn’t have a bench when he went into early-season games against the likes of Clemson and Miami, but now he does. Even freshman Riley Benock hit four 3-pointers in the Jan. 26 win.

The hard part for State is that it will need to continue its top play for at least another week. The Bulldogs will head to Arkansas, where it has lost 14 of its last 16, and host the Southeastern Conference’s highest-ranked team, Tennessee.

The MSU vs Arkansas game will be aired on Raycom Sports, Wednesday, 8:00 PM ET.

Arkansas wins tight one in OT

Darian Townes scored a game-high 18 points and the Arkansas Razorbacks nipped the Alabama Crimson Tide, 71-67, in overtime of a SEC affair at Bud Walton Arena.

Sonny Weems tallied 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Razorbacks (13-3, 2-0 SEC), who won their fourth game in a row. Charles Thomas notched a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Gary Ervin chipped in with 12 points in the triumph.

Richard Hendrix paced the Tide (11-6, 0-2) in defeat with a double-double that consisted of 17 points and 11 rebounds. Mykal Riley had 16 points and six boards, and Alonzo Gee turned in 15 points and five rebounds in the losing effort. Alabama has now lost three of its last four games, including two straight.

Arkansas used a 14-3 run in the first half to take a 36-28 lead at the break.

Alabama closed out the second half with a 7-1 run and Riley sent the game into overtime, 60-60, on a late three-point field.

In overtime, Ervin converted a three-point play in the final minute and the Razorbacks held off the Tide for the four-point victory.

Arkansas hit on 20-of-29 free-throw attempts in the contest, while Alabama went just 10-of-18 at the foul line.